The trial
by FoxKid1302
Summary: Leo tries to overcome his biggest weakness.


Leo clenched his jaws and tightened the grip of his fists. This was it. No more avoiding, no more running away, and most of all, no more failure.

- Are you sure about this, bro? - Mikey put a hand on his shoulder.

Leo gave him a reassuring look and nodded. He must looked really pathetic to have his baby brother worried for him like that.

- You don't have to push yourself this much - Don tried one last time to stop his eldest from what he was going to do - You have to accept that you can't be good at everything.

- I dunno, Donnie - Raph smirked - Ya can't stop Fearless once he set his mind on sumthin'. Besides, I think I'm gonna enjoy this.

Don threw him a glare and Leo just rolled his eyes. Trust Raph to ruin his spirit at this crucial moment. But no matter what the hothead said, he had to do this, even if this was the last thing he did.

- Remember guys, I have to do this alone. I really appreciate the offer to help, but it will be meaningless that way, and Raph - He looked over his red clad brother with a sarcastic look - Thanks for the encouragement.

- Yer welcome - Raph shrugged - Don't count on me jumping in ta save yer ass if ya die in there though.

Leo ignored the last remark. He knew if anything went wrong and he was in danger, Raph would be the first to plow in. That just Raph's way to express what he actually thought.

- You got everything? - Don asked.

- After checking my gear for the tenth time, yeah, I think I've got everything.

- Okay then... Good luck. May you come out victorious, Leonardo.

Now Leo knew he's really desperate when Mikey said something like that. But then, there's no backing out now, so here goes nothing. Leo dived in.

...

Several minutes passed without any sound from the blue clad turtle except for the sound of things got shuffled, metal clang against each other, but that just made Don and Mikey worried even more. It felt like the calm before a storm. Raph just sat there, his eyes fixed on where he saw his brother last. Despite teasing Leo to no end, Raph genuinely cared about his brother. Not to mention this was something the whole family should worry about, since it involved...

- Ow! - The cry from inside, followed by a loud clang jerked them all up.

- You okay in there bro? - Mikey was the first to leap to the entrance.

- Don't come in! - Leo's voice sounded muffled - I'm okay, just a little cut.

- Smoke's coming out - Don covered his beak - What are you doing in there?

- Nothing, it's just... Oh SHELL! - Leo shrieked again.

Suddenly there was sound of a lot of things came down crashing, more screaming and at some point, even curses right after the sound of something exploding. Then...

- OK! I think I've got it. You guys hang tight. I'd be done in a... YEOW!

- LEO! - Both Mikey and Don screamed his name, and Raph was already on his feet.

- That's it! - Raph stomped forward - I'm coming in. Mikey, ya with me?

- But Leo said...

- Can't ya see he's dying in there? - Raph blared off - Yer the only one who can help him.

Biting his lower lips real heard, the youngest turtle followed suit his hothead brother inside, only to be greeted by the sight of...

- Guys! I thought I told you not to come in! - Leo whined - I'm almost done with dinner!

- More like almost done with demolishing the kitchen. I told y'all this is a bad idea!

The scene before them wasn't farfetched from what Raph described. It looked no less than a battlefield, with Leo right in the middle. A corner of the dining table was still sizzling with something unrecognizable, the microwave's door clung desperately to its hinge, the inside covered with eggshell and yolk. Bubble threatened to erupt from a pot so bad it vibrated the lid before gushing out. Ingredients were everywhere on the counter, chopped into pieces of every shape and size, along with something that looked like chunks of the cutting board. Leo was covered from head to toe with sauces, flour, oil, water and god-knows-what, a knife in one hand and a bottle in the other. To top it off, the moment they barged in was also the moment the frying pan next to the pot bursted into flame.

- I...I'm... sorry? - Leo pulled the corner of his mouth as high as possible, turning his face into the most sheepish, most miserable smile ever.

- Mikey! When ya handed him the recipe, was there _any_ recipe for a disaster? - Raph turned to their baby brother.

- I thought I told you to just 'follow the instruction'? - Mikey ignored the hothead and went straight to save whatever inside the pot and pan - What did you do?

- Well... I just wanted to save time and did all of them at once, but when I boiled the vegetable, they're still hard...

- You didn't even cut them evenly, and there's wood from the board in the mix.

- ... and I put the eggs in the microwave to reduce the time...

- With the shell intact? What were you thinking?

- ... but I was sure I added the tabasco to the frying steaks...

- This is salad oil, bro. No wonder it burnt.

- What's with all this commotion?

All four turned to the kitchen entrance to see master Splinter standing there. His composure was just as usual, but they could all see his hair stood on ends with the sight before him.

- Leo tried to cook dinner, sensei - Don squeaked.

- I gave him the recipes and the instruction - Mikey raised his hand, an innocent smile splashed over his face.

- I told them this was a bad idea, but they didn't listen - Raph huffed.

Splinter took them all in and gazed upon his proudest student and son. Carefully stride over the mess, he came to put a hand on Leo's head.

- I am very proud of you for standing up against your weakness. However, doing so for the first time unsupervised is very unwise. Michelangelo should be here to assist you.

- I'm sorry, sensei. I won't ever try to cook again - Leo let his shoulder sagged.

- Do not let failure dishearten you. No one can be good at anything in the first place, you just... need more practice than the others.

- You really believe I can cook? - Leo immediately perked up, his eyes glittered with hope upon hearing that.

- I believe in you, my son. Now, do tell me: what... exactly did you try to cook?

- We set for some spaghetti and steaks - Mikey presented him the frying pan with a long face - But I don't think it's edible anymore.

- Nonsense. Your brother made these with all the love from his heart. I'm sure we can... salvage some of them.

As if to prove his word, Splinter grabbed a nearby spoon and try what's inside the pan. What supposed to be steak appeared to be more like charcoal, but the rodent put it in his mouth anyway. All eye fell upon him as he chew the food expectantly. A full minute passed without any reaction from the rat. Then slowly, he set the spoon down and lowered the pan Mikey was showing to him so he could put a hand on Leo's shoulder:

- My son...

Leo looked up to him hopefully, his face brightened a bit.

- I did say you should do your best in everything, yes?

The turtle nodded vigorously.

- But in this case... please... give... up...

With that said, he fainted.

- SENSEI!

:::

- Second, anyone?

All three hands of Leo's brothers rose so he could give them another spoonful. Raph slurped on the noodle, occasionally darted his eye over Splinter's bedroom:

- Ya think he's okay in there?

- I gave him some laxative and other meds to calm his stomach down - Don stirred the soup in his bowl - he should be fine by tomorrow.

- It's amazing he can survive Leo's cooking - Mikey beamed obliviously - You think Leo's cooking can be used as weapon?

Three pair of eyes glared at him to shut him up. Leo settled down with them with a bowl of ramen for himself. After cleaning up the after-match, it was all they decided on for dinner.

- At least I can make some ramen - The blue clad turtle still tried his best to keep his spirit up.

- Ya mean instant ramen? All ya have ta do is ta boil the water. Seriously, how can ya suck so bad at this after all these years? And ya call yerself a ninja.

- Hey, I did my best, ok? Maybe if you let me try again, I'll...

- No offense Leo - Don cut him off - But according to my calculation, it would take you about five years to cook a decent meal, and that's only if you practice everyday.

- What he said - Raph quipped - We'll be death by then either from starvation or by yer cooking. Face it, Leo. Yer better off being a ninja and leave the kitchen ta knucklehead over there - He jerked a thumb to Mikey.

Leo just quietly chowed down on his bowl with his face downcast, but a certain red clad turtle could see his fist slightly clenched...

:::

Light was out when they all retreated to their room, putting everything just happened in the kitchen behind, even though Leo's still sulking about that. Later on, in the middle of night, a shadow lurked in the kitchen, shuffling with the pile of trash that once was Leo's cooking. It mumbled to itself:

- Ta think ya can be this dumb ta sulk over sumthin' like this...

Raph dug out the steak, if you could call it steak, safely preserved in a tupperware. While his brothers were busy with the cleaning, Raph sneaked the result of Leo's battle with the kitchen away. For what reason, he didn't even know himself. However...

- Even Splinter got knocked out by this. Geez, ya have some twisted talent, bro. Now, let's see how bad this crap is...

Carefully picked out the most decent piece he could find, Raph closed his eye shut and threw it into his open mouth.

The reaction came almost instantly. He immediately doubled over, one hand over his stomach and the other over his mouth, muffling the noise and somehow stopping his urge to vomit. He had to give it to his sensei for withstanding the devastating taste of this dish. Spitting out the piece and tossing the rest of it back to the trash can, Raph made his way back to his room, unaware of a pair of blue eye following him all the way until he vanished behind closed door.

- Thanks Raph... for having faith in me...


End file.
